Around the Ladder

What do you do when the career you prepared for disappears before it even begins? In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg talks with entrepreneur Viktor Popovic about a life shaped by uncertainty, reinvention, and a willingness to keep moving forward even when the next step is unclear. At 17, Viktor left the former Yugoslavia rather than take part in the war. What he expected to...

What happens when three George Washington University alumni from different generations sit down to compare notes on college, career pivots, and the experiences that shaped them? In this special episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg welcomes Haley Gray, financial planner and founder of Valora Wealth, and Isabel Angeli, a legal marketing communications professional, for a conversation a...

When small business attorney Elissa Hecker had her first child, she expected to go back to her in‑house role, hire a nanny, and keep climbing. Instead, a miserable work environment and a powerful “this can’t be it” moment pushed her to bet on herself and build a remote law practice—back in 2004, long before it was cool. In this episode, Elissa joins Erika to talk about the very human side of start...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, Erika Steinberg sits down with Dr. Bushra Khan to explore why the skills that matter most in today’s workplace are often the ones that are hardest to measure. As AI takes over more of the technical, repeatable parts of work, the conversation shifts to what still sets people apart: communication, emotional intelligence, trust-building, and the ability to lead t...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, Erika Steinberg sits down with Matt Plavnick to talk about the unexpected turns that shaped his path, from teaching and writing to time in Antarctica, freelance work, and eventually a long career inside law firms before launching his own business. Matt’s story is a reminder that not every move needs to look strategic in the moment to become meaningful later. W...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, Erika Steinberg sits down with financial planner Haley Gray to unpack one of the most emotionally charged parts of career change: money. Haley shares how financial planning intersects with fear, freedom, identity, and the very real practical concerns that come with leaving a stable job or starting something new. Together, they discuss what people are most afra...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg sits down with Shabnam Irilian for an honest conversation about what happens when a career that once felt right starts to feel misaligned. Shabnam shares her experience of stepping away from a successful, linear career after realizing that burnout, exhaustion, and a lack of fulfillment had taken over. Together, they explore the emotional w...

What happens when your career looks good on paper, but still feels off? In this episode of Around the Ladder, Erika Steinberg talks with Alex McCann about career pivots, the pressure to “have it figured out,” and why so many people are questioning the old rules of work. Alex shares the through line behind his own shifts from engineering to music to marketing and now to founding Rumbo: curiosity, e...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, Erika Steinberg sits down with licensed clinical social worker Laura Guy to explore what can surface when high-achieving professionals step off the traditional career path and start building something of their own. What often looks like freedom on the outside can also bring up a surprising amount of uncertainty on the inside, especially for people who have lon...

In this conversation on Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg talks with Teah Iosebashvilli and Aleena Abrahamian about what happens when work, health, and identity begin to shift at the same time. Both guests share candidly about burnout, perimenopause and menopause, and the decision to build careers that support their energy, wellbeing, and priorities instead of working against them. Their con...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, Erika Steinberg speaks with Caitlin Harrison, founder of Firmly Studio, about what it means to build a career without a traditional ladder. Caitlin shares how her path through small design companies, print publications, and digital work led her to launch her own business in 2020. What began as a leap during an unstable season turned into a clearer vision for t...

In this episode of Around the Ladder host Erika Steinberg sits down with fractional COO and operations strategist Ariana Tenine to talk about what happens when your business is “working” yet you feel maxed out mentally and emotionally. Ariana shares how she accidentally discovered operations as her zone of genius and how she now helps multi six and seven figure visionaries cut their day to day dec...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg sits down with storyteller and founder of Super Heumann Creative Steven Heumann to unpack what happens when “safe” stops feeling right and comfort starts to feel like a trap. Steven shares how he spent 15 years in television rising from intern to senior producer then realized the growth he wanted would only come if he took a risk on himsel...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg sits down with legal recruiter and author Jennifer Gillman to talk about what it really takes for lawyers to move from “surviving” to truly thriving in their careers and lives. Drawing on years of conversations with law firm partners and rainmakers plus insights from her new book The Happy Rainmaker, Jennifer shares a practical framework f...

In this Episode media strategist and former academic turned Wall Street analyst, nonprofit leader and legal PR pro, Janet Falk has built a career by refusing to climb a single ladder in a straight line. In this episode, Janet joins host Erika Steinberg to talk about control in media relations, the six Ws every communicator should use, and why you are always in the “business of your own name.”​ In...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg talks with Beth Wanner, an accomplished marketing leader turned accidental entrepreneur who founded Mother Cover, the first-of-its-kind agency focused on covering parental leave and other temporary absences. Beth shares how a successful 15-year career in tech and supply chain marketing collided with infertility, layoffs and pregnancy discr...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg talks with Charlie Birch, founder of Humanized Collective and creator of Brand IDQ, about what it really means to grow a founder-led business without burning out or getting stuck as the bottleneck. Charlie shares how a childhood spent watching her parents build and sell a healthcare consulting firm, combined with her background in dance, s...

In this episode, Raychel explains how growing up in a small coastal village, feeling out of place, and craving something bigger led her to apply to Barry University in Miami almost on a whim, and how that bold move reshaped her life. She describes the early career false starts, visa struggles, and financial stress that left her washing dishes in a bathroom sink and rummaging for gas money before a...

In this episode, Erika talks with Bradley Girard of BGS Connect, a multidisciplinary creative with 30+ years of experience in design, photography, video, podcasting, and marketing who has built a rich career entirely off the “traditional” path.​ Bradley shares how growing up in a big, creative family and watching his brother’s design career set the stage for his own journey from teenage catering g...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg sits down with Jennifer Gillman, former lawyer turned legal recruiter and the founder of Gillman Strategic Group. Jennifer helps rainmaking lawyers and law firm partners design careers that align with both their values and their lives. Her signature Six Pillars of a Happy Rainmaker framework has guided countless attorneys to rediscover mea...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg welcomes Sarah Pew, founder of Sarah Pew Consulting, for a conversation about entrepreneurship, authenticity, and operational clarity. Sarah has built her consulting practice on helping small businesses thrive by turning chaos into clarity, through systems, scalable processes, and strong messaging. Together, Erika and Sarah dig into how to...

In this new episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg welcomes Laura Green, a growth strategist and founder of Impact Vector, who helps entrepreneurs and creative leaders build, grow, and protect the businesses they love. Together, they explore what it really means to design a business that serves both your vision and your life. Laura shares her journey from educator to entrepreneur to st...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg sits down with Rose Moran, Chief Revenue Officer at ICVM Hawk, to talk about her unconventional path from entrepreneurship to legal marketing leadership, and what every law firm marketer needs to know about AI search visibility. Rose shares how her journey “around the ladder” took her from fashion marketing to founding her own business, Cr...

In this latest episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg chats with Danielle Hughes, Chief Personality Officer of More Than Words Marketing. Danielle’s journey from art school to soap operas, from corporate copywriting to founding her own business—is anything but linear. And that’s exactly the point. Danielle shares how she discovered her passion for helping people express their authentic...

In this episode of Around the Ladder, host Erika Steinberg welcomes Elise Holtzman, former practicing attorney turned executive coach, consultant, and founder of The Lawyer’s Edge. Elise shares her unconventional journey from pre-med student to Big Law associate, and ultimately to a thriving career helping lawyers become confident leaders and rainmakers. With humor and candor, Elise opens up about...